In light of mandates in the Communications Act,...

In light of mandates in the Communications Act, the FCC must ensure that only properly designated eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) may participate in any potential IP transition rural broadband experiment that uses USF resources, NTCA told an aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler Friday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/1eTgu2D). Those ETCs must be common carriers that offer supported services throughout designated areas, and must be required to offer voice telephony that is reasonably comparable in price and quality to service in urban areas, NTCA said. To the extent that those ETCs would also presumably be required to offer broadband as a condition of receiving such USF support, such broadband must be reasonably comparable in price and quality to broadband in urban areas, the association said. “Failure to design any experiment rules in accordance with these mandates could call into question the legal underpinnings of the program, and could relegate consumers in the affected areas to substandard services as a matter of price, quality, or both,” it said.